His Purpose Revealed
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His Purpose Revealed.
His Purpose Revealed.
Good morning everyone!
I hope you’ve had a good week, it’s already the middle of October, each day passes quickly, doesn’t it.
I am reminded my friends that time is running out. We all know someone who is ill, we know perhaps a person that has passed recently.
The Bible tells us in Job 14, verses 1 and 2
1 “Man who is born of a woman
is few of days and full of trouble.
2 He comes out like a flower and withers;
he flees like a shadow and continues not.
So we know that we are here for a little while, and then we are gone. So I want to ask you the question… What are you doing while here? Will you live your life for Jesus or will you live it for something else.
I sense a urgency to tell people that our time is running out… make the most of your time for Jesus.
And this fits for us today… in Matthew 16 we find Jesus in the passage right after the great confession, and there He shares the purpose of His coming and when the disciples hear it, its not popular to say the least.
But Jesus shares the urgency of His mission and friends, if Jesus reminds us that the mission is urgent, then we need to get busy.
So lets look at our text for today....
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
So let me point something out to you as we set the stage for this message. The Bible tells us this at the beginning of verse 21 “ from that time....”
What is important about this.... this marks the stage for a shift in Jesus public ministry. From teaching and going place to place preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God, he now begins to say more about His up coming death, burial and resurrection,
It is all building toward the climax of that 3rd day....
I would remind you, our lives are moving forward, the end is coming… time is short.. we need to get busy.
So with that in mind my friends, let’s consider 3 thoughts.. the first one is this...
1. Jesus Purpose Revealed....
Up until this point in time, God has not allowed Jesus, His Son to reveal His purpose in coming into the world. Jesus has kept this hidden from all, even the disciples.
Past Old Testament prophecies pointed the way, sharing the role of God’s Messiah, revealing His purpose when He came into the world.
But mankind didn’t understand the true nature of those purposes in their fallen state or nature. Their own selfishness, and sinful nature has distorted and mis interpreted God plan.
And we get that, they as a people have suffered the oppression of invading nations, they have suffered because of their sin. They were hoping and waiting for the Messiah to deliver them.
But here, Jesus begins to reveal that purpose. What the Messiah has come to do in this world for the jewish community and also for the rest of the world.
So look back at the text...
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
So lets break down what’s being said here… The text says
So from this time..., here is the shift in His ministry in that while He is still teaching, healing and serving many, Jesus will begin His movement toward the cross, His death, burial and resurrection.
Then it says....
Jesus began to show them, referring to his disciples. It’s not hard to predict that people wanted him dead, but Jesus didn’t come just to be killed, no He came to give his life as a ransom for sin.
Jerusalem is important, to go there is just the opposite of where the disciples would have gone. The religious leaders are there, and its is there where the hostility against him would increase.
But its the city of God, the temple is there in this city and falling back to last week, remember Jesus was referred to as a Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
If you remember, Melchizedek was a king and priest of Salem, during the days of Abraham, Salem is the ancient name of Jerusalem. Jesus is both king and priest of His Kingdom forever. So he was established as a King and Priest
But Jesus greatest lessons would soon go beyond anything that those around him might think or consider.
The Fullness of His Mission...
Finally at the end of verse 21 we see, his purposes proclaimed to their fullest...
“…that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hand of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
So consider this… When you look back at all the instances of sin in the Old Testament, Sin has consequences....
Sin has to be punished, sin always divides and pulls people away from God, Sin always stains and darkens the life of the person. Sin always leads to death.
Just as a lamb or young ram was offered in the OT for the sins of the people, soon Jesus would be offered up freely for the sins of the entire world, past, present and future.
It would be a necessary death to atone for the world to once again, His mission meant He would be the lamb of God like John the Baptist who takes away the sins of the world.
His purposes would make mankind whole, well and acceptable in front of of the Lord or God.
Jesus will be that sacrifice for sin… This would be the purpose of God’s only Son.
But honestly are the disciples to hear this news? It was difficult to hear this....
So lets look at this second thought today...
2. Peter’s Rebuke....
I can only imagine how confused the disciples must have felt when Jesus begins to reveal the true purpose of the Son of God. That He must suffer, die and rise again, didn’t seem to fit with the idea of the Messiah ...
How could Jesus die, they were just getting started and they were just beginning to understand His purposes and power
Many thought He would establish His kingdom right then… that they would be delivered very soon…
The people longed for that, they hoped and searched for that… and now they had found the Messiah and he tells them something that will just blow their minds..
What they didn’t understand was sin, and the power of sin in this world was a greater adversary than Rome and its oppression. Man needed redemption, freedom from sin and the power of God living in them more than their next breath...
So as Jesus shares the purposes of God, Peter steps in very quickly to speak to Jesus. Lets go back again to our text...
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
Peter, you know Peter, He always speaks up so quickly, and He shares kind of the collective thoughts of the disciples… He is bold enough to speak up.
But here is the problem, You know, it’s really un heard of for the disciple to correct His teacher, let alone rebuke him… but this is exactly what Peter does...
So Peter kind of crosses the boundaries if you will
He took Jesus aside.... Peter has just confessed who Jesus was, the was the Christ, the Son of the living God in verse 16… but here Peter does a complete about-face if you will…
Peter says “...Never..... It is like how could you ever say such a thing, you cannot die, you cannot suffer… You haven’t helped us yet, you haven’t set us free. You’re the Messiah for crying out loud.
You are the King, This shall never happen to you....
We need to get started on the kingdom building.,,
Lets me ask you a question, have you every felt like Peter? Maybe you always having an opinion before really understanding the will and purposes of God.
My friends in their own desires, their own perceptions as to what the Messiah is to do, they forgot the OT has prophesied about this....
Isa 53:5 says
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
And then
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
We see similar texts in Psalm 22 and Ezekiel chapters 12 and 13..
It was foretold that the Messiah would come and suffer in the care of sinful men.
These were the plans of God since before the foundation of the world. How wonderful to know that God’s plans have always been about redeeming man from their sin, from their lost and separated condition.
God’s plans were always about us!
And right now, Peter says this will never be....
Wait a minute… that’s not the plan, Jesus!
I would like you to stop and think for a minute my friends...
How would you feel if God said you have to hit the bottom before You can see deliverance…
Well, we would probably say, are you sure Lord? I really don’t understand what you are saying right...
But I would challenge you, consider this…
Do you trust God?
Do you believe He can see you through any storm?
Do you believe He will never leave you or forsake you?
Do you know He loves you?
My friends I say this to tell you the ways of God are perfect, things happen in this life but regardless of what the world tries to hand out, His ways, His response, His actions are perfect!
He will deliver me according to His will and purposes and not by our will or purpose. He is perfect.
So today you have to just tops and make up your mind. Do you trust him or not?
Then if you say yes… Then do it, Trust him!
Now just one last thought in our text for today...
3. Jesus Warning....
After hearing Peter’s rebuke concerning His purpose, Jesus issues a stern warning to Peter and those listening to Him.
Pay attention to this....
Listen to verse 23...
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Wow.... What is Jesus saying?
A. Jesus speaks to Peter.... get behind me, Satan!
Jesus is not saying that Peter is possessed by the devil or anything of the sort, but if any one steps in the way of God’s plans, in the way of God’s purposes… well listen.. they are in fact acting in the role of the devil.
Did you hear that.. If you step in the way of God’s plans, His mission you are acting like the devil… you are hindering the work of God.
We have to be careful.... I dont want to help the Devil all the while thinking I am doing God’s work… Amen...
Then Jesus says...
B. You are a Stumbling Block to Me.... Peter and yes the disciples had to change their human centered ideas about the Messiah.
God’s plans are perfect and if we say God is the sovereign , then how dare us say our ways are right....
Listen to what Jesus says next my friends...
“…You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” V 23b
This my friends is contrary to what Jesus has been teaching to the disciples and others that listened to Him.
Jesus has taught more than once, we are to set our hearts and minds and things above, not one earthy things.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Paul will emphasize this in His epistle to the Colossians
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
In both of these verses, the call is to set our minds on heavenly things, spiritual things, not the physical, not earthly… those things are carnal, wicked and hurtful.
We must be careful my friends, so often God’s people allow self, their thoughts to get in the way of what God is trying to do in the church and in the world we are planted.
Friends be careful
So lets take a test… are the thoughts of your days focused more on self, our needs and so forth,
Or… are you looking at how our life in this world can make a difference so we can bring glory to our Lord,
Are you living to bring the message of God’s love to others
Are you living in the way, serving and doing your best to see the Messiah made real in the lives of many… or are you in the way and hindering the work of God?
You see, we are on once side or the other…There is no middle ground.
Now this passage has one last thought tied to it, but we will look at it next week..
But for today, lets bow our heads in prayer and seek His face and ask Him. am in in the way or as I hindering the way.
And if you are hindering, Will you confess that today and seek His face and ask Lord , what can I do to change what I’ve been doing
We have a message to tell,
We have work to do
We have a kingdom that awaits us, but I want more people there.
Jesus search our hearts and minds right now, let us confess our wrongs, our sin and let us reach out and take hold of your blessings and live for Jesus.